Here are 80 Christmas riddles for kids with answers, sorted from easy “What am I?” riddles for ages 4 to 6 up to tricky riddles and brain teasers for ages 10 and up. Every answer sits right under its riddle, the pun riddles explain why they are funny, and 24 of them are set up as a riddle a day Advent calendar for December 1 to 24, 2026. That includes both classic riddles with a real answer, like “What has lots of needles but can’t sew?”, and pun riddles that only make sense when you say them out loud.
We make Who Smarted?, a podcast that answers kids’ questions about how the world works, so we spend a lot of time on the moment a kid goes “wait, I know this!” For this 2026 to 2027 edition we read every riddle out loud and kept only the ones that still work when you say them. Last year’s list had five riddles that were repeats, several puns that fell apart when spoken, a few jokes meant for grown-ups and one that could spoil the Santa story for a younger sibling. Those are gone.
If you have a preschooler, start with the What Am I? riddles, because the answers are things they can see in your living room in December. If you have a 7 to 9 year old who just discovered puns, the middle section is theirs. If you teach a class, the Advent calendar gives you one riddle for every school morning in December. And if you are planning Christmas morning, there is a printable scavenger hunt at the end.
This page has tips on asking riddles so kids can actually solve them, the 2026 Advent calendar, 80 riddles in six sections, a short guide to writing your own, and three Who Smarted? episodes about snow and winter to play once the riddles run out.
Jump to a section:
Christmas Riddle Advent Calendar 2026
Easy Christmas Riddles for Ages 4 to 6
Christmas Riddles for Kids Ages 7 to 9
Tricky Christmas Riddles for Ages 10 and Up
Christmas Brain Teasers and Logic Riddles
Funny Christmas Joke Riddles
Christmas Morning Scavenger Hunt Riddles
Write Your Own Christmas Riddle
Winter Questions on Who Smarted?
How to Ask Christmas Riddles So Kids Can Solve Them
The best way to ask a Christmas riddle is to read it twice, slowly, and give one clue before you give the answer. Kids solve far more riddles when they hear every word and get a nudge.
Riddles are also good for reading. Reading Rockets notes that riddles help kids listen to the sounds of words, notice that some words have more than one meaning and build vocabulary, which is exactly what a pun like “Fleece Navidad” asks them to do.
| Section | Best for | Riddles | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy Christmas Riddles for Ages 4 to 6 | Ages 4 to 6 | 1 to 20 | What am I? clues about things in the room |
| Christmas Riddles for Kids Ages 7 to 9 | Ages 7 to 9 | 21 to 40 | Classic riddles and puns, each pun explained |
| Tricky Christmas Riddles for Ages 10 and Up | Ages 10 and up | 41 to 55 | Trick questions and double meanings |
| Christmas Brain Teasers and Logic Riddles | Ages 9 and up | 56 to 65 | Math and logic, with the working shown |
| Funny Christmas Joke Riddles | Everyone | 66 to 72 | Quick pun jokes for the dinner table |
| Christmas Morning Scavenger Hunt Riddles | Ages 5 and up, with a grown-up | 73 to 80 | Rhyming clues that lead around the house |
Use the hint ladder that fits your kid:
- For ages 4 to 6, point. Most answers in the first section are in the room, so a glance at the tree or the window is the perfect clue. Accept “Santa’s deer” for Rudolph.
- For ages 7 to 9, say the key word out loud in a funny voice. “Sandy CLAWS” usually does it. Read the explanation after the laugh, not before.
- For ages 10 and up, give no hints for 30 seconds, then one word: “eggs,” “smoke,” “grammar.” Let them argue it out first.
Say your 6 year old is stuck on “What falls at Christmas but never gets hurt?” Read it again slowly. Then give the first clue: “Look out the window in December.” If that does not do it, try “It’s cold and white.” By then most kids get it, and she gets to say the answer herself.
- Pick the section that matches the youngest player.
- Read each riddle twice before anyone guesses.
- Give one clue at a time, using the hint ladder above.
- Read the answer, then the explanation, so the pun lands.
Christmas Riddle Advent Calendar for December 1 to 24, 2026
The Christmas riddle Advent calendar gives your family or class one riddle a day from Tuesday, December 1, 2026 to Thursday, December 24, 2026, starting easy and getting trickier as Christmas Eve gets closer. Tap a door to open that day’s riddle, then tap again for the answer. You can also print the calendar sheet, with the answer key on its own page.
A few days are matched to the season: December 6 is St. Nicholas Day, December 13 is St. Lucia Day (a candle riddle), and December 24 ends with Rudolph’s foggy Christmas Eve. Teachers using it for morning meeting can pair the riddle with a short episode through the free Who Smarted? educator subscription.
Easy What Am I? Christmas Riddles for Ages 4 to 6
Easy Christmas riddles for ages 4 to 6 are “What am I?” riddles: two or three clues about something a young child can see or touch in December, like a stocking, a candy cane or a snowman. Read all the clues before anyone guesses, and count close answers as right.
These work for preschoolers because every answer is a thing, not a pun. Say a 4 year old hears “I hang by the fireplace and get filled with treats.” She does not need to know any wordplay; she just needs to look across the room. Point at the fireplace if she gets stuck, and she gets the win.
1. I’m white and cold, and I fall from the sky in winter. What am I?
Answer: Snow.
2. I have a carrot nose and coal eyes, and I melt when the sun comes out. Who am I?
Answer: A snowman.
3. My nose glows red, and I help pull Santa’s sleigh. Who am I?
Answer: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
4. I stay green all year, I wear lights in December, and presents sit under me. What am I?
Answer: A Christmas tree.
5. I hang by the fireplace, I look like a giant sock, and I get filled with treats. What am I?
Answer: A stocking.
6. I’m striped red and white, I’m shaped like a hook, and I taste like peppermint. What am I?
Answer: A candy cane.
7. I’m wrapped in paper with a bow on top, and you can’t peek until it’s time. What am I?
Answer: A present.
8. I’m a cookie shaped like a little person, and I’m spicy with ginger. Who am I?
Answer: A gingerbread man.
9. I make toys at the North Pole, and I wear pointy shoes. Who am I?
Answer: An elf.
10. I say “Ho ho ho!” and I bring presents on Christmas Eve. Who am I?
Answer: Santa Claus.
11. I’m round and white, and kids throw me at each other in winter. What am I?
Answer: A snowball.
12. I’m warm and chocolatey, and marshmallows love to float in me. What am I?
Answer: Hot cocoa.
13. I keep your hand warm in the snow. I have a spot for your thumb but no spots for your fingers. What am I?
Answer: A mitten.
14. I shine at the very top of the Christmas tree. What am I?
Answer: A star (some families use an angel).
15. I go jingle, jingle when the reindeer run. What am I?
Answer: A sleigh bell.
16. I’m a black and white bird who can’t fly, but I love to slide on my tummy across the ice. What am I?
Answer: A penguin.
17. You sit on me and zoom down a snowy hill. What am I?
Answer: A sled.
18. I hang from the roof in winter. I’m pointy, I’m made of ice, and I drip when it gets warm. What am I?
Answer: An icicle.
19. I’m a snowman who came to life when someone put an old silk hat on my head. Who am I?
Answer: Frosty the Snowman.
20. I’m green and grumpy, I live on a mountain, and my heart grew three sizes. Who am I?
Answer: The Grinch.
Did riddle 1 make anyone wonder why snow looks the way it does? Almost every snowflake has six sides, and NASA explains why: it comes down to how water molecules lock together when they freeze.
Christmas Riddles for Kids Ages 7 to 9
Christmas riddles for kids ages 7 to 9 mix classic riddles with pun riddles, because this is the age when kids start to get jokes that play with the sound of a word. Each answer below explains its pun, so a kid who does not get it the first time gets it the second time.
Picture an 8 year old who laughs at “Sandy Claws” a beat after everyone else. Saying “Sandy Claws, Santa Claus, they sound the same!” turns that late laugh into the moment the joke clicks. Once kids see how a pun is built, they start making their own.
21. What falls at Christmas but never gets hurt?
Answer: Snow.
22. What has lots of needles but can’t sew?
Answer: A Christmas tree. Pine and fir trees have needles instead of flat leaves.
23. What kind of ball doesn’t bounce?
Answer: A snowball.
24. What do you call an old snowman?
Answer: Water. Give any snowman enough time and it melts.
25. What can you catch in winter but never throw?
Answer: A cold.
26. What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
Answer: Frosted flakes.
27. Why are Christmas trees so bad at knitting?
Answer: They always drop their needles.
28. What do you get if you cross a bell with a skunk?
Answer: Jingle smells. Say it out loud and it sounds like “Jingle Bells.”
29. Why did the gingerbread man go to the doctor?
Answer: He was feeling crummy. Cookies make crumbs, and “crummy” also means feeling bad.
30. What do elves learn in school?
Answer: The elf-abet. Say it fast: alphabet.
31. What do you call a cat on the beach at Christmas?
Answer: Sandy Claws. It sounds just like Santa Claus.
32. What kind of photos do elves take?
Answer: Elfies, the elf version of selfies.
33. What is a snowman’s favorite game?
Answer: Ice spy, the frosty version of I spy.
34. What do you call a snowman in the summer?
Answer: A puddle.
35. How do snowmen get around town?
Answer: They ride an icicle. Say it out loud: icicle, bicycle.
36. What do you get if you cross Santa with a duck?
Answer: A Christmas quacker. A Christmas cracker is a paper tube that pops open with a prize inside, a favorite at British Christmas dinners.
37. What do snowmen call their kids?
Answer: Chill-dren.
38. How do sheep say Merry Christmas?
Answer: Fleece Navidad. Feliz Navidad means Merry Christmas in Spanish, and sheep grow fleece.
39. What did one snowman say to the other snowman?
Answer: “Do you smell carrots?” Snowmen have carrot noses.
40. Why does Santa have three gardens?
Answer: So he can hoe, hoe, hoe. A hoe is a garden tool.
Tricky Christmas Riddles for Ages 10 and Up
Tricky Christmas riddles for ages 10 and up hide the answer behind a trick: a word with two meanings, a detail that does not add up, or a question that sends you looking the wrong way. Give older kids a 30 second timer and no hints on the first try.
These are also the riddles that work for a grown-up table. Say your 11 year old has heard every snowman joke there is. Hand him the rooster riddle at Christmas dinner and watch the adults argue about which side of the roof the egg rolls down.
41. I’m tall when I’m young and short when I’m old, and on a December night I glow. What am I?
Answer: A candle.
42. Which burns longer, a red candle or a green candle?
Answer: Neither. Candles always burn shorter, never longer.
43. What can go up a chimney down, but can’t come down a chimney up?
Answer: An umbrella. Closed (down), it fits up the chimney. Open (up), it gets stuck.
44. One Christmas Eve, I was so thick that Santa needed a glowing red nose to find his way. The more of me there is, the less you can see. What am I?
Answer: Fog. In the song, Rudolph guides the sleigh on “one foggy Christmas Eve.”
45. Which letter shows up twice in CHRISTMAS but only once in SANTA?
Answer: S. (The letter A does the opposite: once in CHRISTMAS, twice in SANTA.)
46. I have a neck but no head, and two arms but no hands. In December, I’m often covered in reindeer. What am I?
Answer: A Christmas sweater.
47. I have 88 keys, but I can’t open a single door. Carolers love me. What am I?
Answer: A piano. A standard piano has 88 keys.
48. I have hands, but I can’t clap. On New Year’s Eve, everyone watches me count down. What am I?
Answer: A clock.
49. On Christmas Eve, every kid wishes I would hurry up. I’m always coming, but I never actually arrive. What am I?
Answer: Tomorrow. As soon as it gets here, it’s today.
50. If a rooster laid an egg on the very top of Santa’s roof, which way would it roll?
Answer: It wouldn’t roll anywhere. Roosters don’t lay eggs; hens do.
51. Santa trades his reindeer for an electric sleigh. Which way does the smoke blow?
Answer: There’s no smoke. Electric sleighs (like electric cars) don’t burn fuel.
52. What do you call Santa’s helpers?
Answer: Subordinate Clauses. In grammar, a subordinate clause is part of a sentence that can’t stand alone, just like a helper.
53. What did one Christmas tree say to the other Christmas tree?
Answer: “Lighten up!” Christmas trees wear lights.
54. Why did Rudolph get a bad report card?
Answer: He went down in history. That’s the last line of the Rudolph song, and in school, grades “going down” is bad news.
55. What has one horse, two runners and no wheels?
Answer: A one-horse open sleigh, like the one in “Jingle Bells.” A sleigh’s runners are the long blades that slide on the snow.
Christmas Brain Teasers and Logic Riddles
Christmas brain teasers are riddles you solve with math or logic instead of wordplay, so they suit kids who would rather work something out than guess. Paper and pencil are allowed, and the answers show the working.
Start with the Twelve Days of Christmas teaser and solve it as a family: one person reads the gifts for each day while another keeps the running total.
56. In “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” each verse repeats every gift before it. Counting all twelve verses, how many gifts does the singer get in total?
Answer: 364. Day 1 brings 1 gift, day 2 brings 3 (2 + 1), day 3 brings 6, and so on. Add all twelve days and you get 364, one for almost every day of the year.
57. In that same song, how many gifts arrive on the twelfth day alone?
Answer: 78. That’s 12 + 11 + 10 + 9 + 8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1.
58. Santa’s sleigh team has nine reindeer, counting Rudolph. How many reindeer legs is that?
Answer: 36. Nine reindeer times four legs each.
59. Ellie the elf is older than Jingle. Jingle is older than Pip. Who is the youngest elf?
Answer: Pip.
60. If 3 elves can wrap 3 presents in 3 minutes, how long do 100 elves need to wrap 100 presents?
Answer: 3 minutes. Each elf wraps one present in 3 minutes, so 100 elves wrap 100 presents in the same 3 minutes.
61. On Monday morning, a snowman is 6 feet tall. Every night, it melts to half its height. How tall is it on Thursday morning?
Answer: 9 inches. Monday 6 feet, Tuesday 3 feet, Wednesday 1 and a half feet, Thursday three quarters of a foot, which is 9 inches.
62. Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday. What day of the week is New Year’s Day 2027?
Answer: Friday. New Year’s Day is exactly 7 days after Christmas, so it lands on the same day of the week.
63. Your sock drawer holds 10 red socks and 10 green socks, and the lights are off. How many socks must you grab to be sure you have a matching pair?
Answer: 3. With only two colors, any 3 socks must include two of the same color.
64. Rearrange the letters of TINSEL to make a word from a famous Christmas carol.
Answer: SILENT, as in “Silent Night.”
65. Santa leaves his house at the North Pole. Whichever way he goes, which direction is he heading?
Answer: South. From the North Pole, every direction is south.
For the rest of the year, our brain teasers for kids has 50 more logic puzzles and math challenges.
Funny Christmas Joke Riddles
Funny Christmas joke riddles are question and answer jokes built on a pun, the kind kids tell at the dinner table and then tell again. They are short, so they are perfect for reading out loud between courses or slipping into a lunchbox note.
66. What is the Christmas alphabet?
Answer: The regular alphabet with no L. Say it out loud: Noel.
67. Where does Santa keep his money?
Answer: In a snow bank.
68. What do you call Santa when he takes a break?
Answer: Santa Pause.
69. What do you call a dog that works for Santa?
Answer: Santa Paws.
70. Why is it so cold at Christmas?
Answer: Because it’s Decembrrr.
71. What do you get if you eat Christmas decorations?
Answer: Tinsel-itis. It sounds like tonsillitis, a sore throat.
72. What did Mrs. Claus say when she looked up at the stormy sky?
Answer: “Looks like rain, dear!” Say it fast: reindeer.
Christmas Morning Scavenger Hunt Riddles
A Christmas scavenger hunt is a set of riddle clues where each answer is a place in your home, and the clue for the next spot is hidden there. Print the 8 clues below, hide clues 2 to 8 in the places named by the clue before, and put the final surprise in the stocking.
Parents ask for these on riddle forums every December, usually with the same request: no elaborate props, easy enough for anyone. These use only places every home has. Leave out anything hot, high up or outside, and for kids under 6, read each clue out loud and let them run.
Clue 1 goes in the first player’s hand. Each answer below tells you where to hide the next clue.
73. I hum all night and keep things cold. The milk for Santa’s cookies is what I hold. Open my door and take a peek, your next clue is the one you seek.
Answer: The refrigerator.
74. I spin and spin, but I’m not a top. I fill up with bubbles, and then I stop. Open my door or lift my lid, that’s where your next clue is hid.
Answer: The washing machine.
75. When it’s bath time, I fill to the top, and rubber ducks float until the bubbles pop.
Answer: The bathtub.
76. I’m full of stories but I never speak. I hold the books you read each week.
Answer: The bookshelf.
77. I have a tongue, but I cannot taste. I have laces too, but I’m never in haste. Look inside me, near the door.
Answer: A shoe.
78. I’m soft and fluffy, and I’m always on your bed. Every night, I hold your sleepy head.
Answer: A pillow.
79. I wear lights and a star, and ornaments too. Look under my branches: there’s something for you.
Answer: The Christmas tree.
80. I’m hung by the chimney with care, and in the morning, something special waits there.
Answer: A stocking. The clue comes from the poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas”: “The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.”
How to Write Your Own Christmas Riddle
Kids can write their own Christmas riddle in three steps: pick a Christmas thing, list three clues about it without saying its name, and end with “What am I?” The best riddles start with the hardest clue and finish with the easiest one.
- Pick a Christmas thing, like a mitten, a wreath, a reindeer or a gingerbread house.
- Write three clues about what it looks like, what it does and where you find it. Start with the trickiest.
- Read it to someone. If they guess on the first clue, make that clue harder. If nobody gets it after all three, make the last one easier.
Picture a 7 year old writing about a wreath: “I’m round but I’m not a ball. I’m green but I’m not a frog. I hang on your front door. What am I?” Her grandparents will not have heard that one, and homemade riddles make good Christmas card notes.
Winter Questions Answered on Who Smarted?
Once the riddles run out, these Who Smarted? episodes keep the winter questions going. They are short enough for the drive to a holiday party.
How does Snow form?
What is snow made of, what makes a better snowball, and is it true that no two snowflakes are alike? (18 minutes, first released December 25, 2024)
Trusty Trivia: SNOW!!!
A quick three-question trivia game about snow with the Trusty Narrator. Play along and see who gets all three. (4 minutes)
Can Penguins fly?
Riddle 16 gives the short answer. This episode covers where most penguins live, how they survive the cold and whether they are better on land or in the water. (17 minutes)
More Holiday Riddles and Trivia for Smarty Pants
When the Christmas riddles are solved, there is plenty more to play this season.
- Christmas trivia questions for kids: 100 questions sorted by age, with a printable round builder
- Riddles for kids: 179 riddles for every month of the year
- Thanksgiving riddles for kids: for the table in November
- Valentine’s Day riddles for kids: ready for February
- Jokes for kids: when they want the punchline without the puzzle
Keep the Christmas Riddles Coming With Who Smarted?
When you want more, our holiday episodes for kids answer the questions behind the riddles, from how snow forms to why we celebrate the New Year.
